13 August 2026
A new mine inside Canaima
SOS Orinoco denounced the presence of a new illegal mine inside Canaima National Park, a protected area of global importance.
Fauna
Mining in the south of the country, in the Arco Minero del Orinoco and even inside national parks, is driving severe deforestation and threatening Venezuela's biodiversity. Expansion under the new mining law deepens the damage. The cost is being paid by the country's forests and wildlife, not by those signing the deals.
The jaguar, the largest cat in the Americas, still ranges across the forests of southern Venezuela that mining is opening up.
NEWS ARCHIVE
News from 2026
Newest first. Entries with less precise dates follow dated entries within the same period.
10 April 2026
A mining law that could devastate the Amazon
SOS Orinoco warned that the new mining law could spell disaster for the Amazon, opening protected territory to extraction.
January 2026
A warning on the record
Mongabay reported on a study warning of the mining's environmental impacts, addressed to the administration led by Delcy Rodríguez.
11 January 2023
Yapacana under pressure
A report found increasing mining deforestation inside Yapacana National Park, part of the wider damage spreading across the south.
Historical context. The publication date has been checked against the cited source.
31 August 2020
An Amazon gold rush
Reporting described Venezuela fuelling an Amazon gold rush, with mining spreading into fragile and protected land.
Historical context. The publication date has been checked against the cited source.
United Nations
Criminal control of the mining area
A United Nations report highlighted criminal control of the mining area in the south of the country, alongside wider concerns about justice and the rule of law.
Summaries from the editorial selection. Historical items retain their original dates.
DEMOCRACY. HUMAN RIGHTS. THE RULE OF LAW.